Screening and identification of potential hypoglycemic components in Zeng Ye Tang by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Zeng Ye Tang, a famous prescription consisting of Xuanshen, Maidong, and Shengdi (5:4:4), has been used in China for a long time to treat diabetes caused by excessive heat with yin deficiency. Although many studies have investigated the pharmacological effects of Zeng Ye Tang, the compounds responsible for its hypoglycemic effect have not been identified. In this study, 50 compounds in Zeng Ye Tang were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. From these 50 compounds, nine cell-interacted compounds were identified by biospecific cell extraction using 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Moreover, nine potential active compounds that could be released into the blood were also acquired through serum pharmacochemical analysis in normal and diabetic rats after administration with Zeng Ye Tang. According to the established quantitative analytical method of nine constituents by high-performance liquid chromatography, six shared prototype constituents (catalpol/harpagide/p-coumaric acid/harpagoside/angoroside C/cinnamic acid (75.56:19.74:1.00:15.11:20.36:7.65), were screened and verified to exert remarkable hypoglycemic activity on type 2 diabetic mice. In conclusion, the six shared constituents may be responsible for the hypoglycemic activity of Zeng Ye Tang.